Tarzan
| starring = | based on = ''The Legend of Tarzan by Walt Disney Television | music = | cinematography = | editing = John Royer | studio = | distributor = Walt Disney Home Entertainment | released = | runtime = 70 minutes | country = United States Philippines Taiwan South Korea | language = English | budget = }} Tarzan & Jane is an animated comedy-adventure film produced by Walt Disney Television Animation with the original animation production by Toon City, Walt Disney Animation Australia, Wang Film Productions and Hana Animation. Released on July 23, 2002, it is a direct-to-video sequel to the Disney's 1999 animated feature Tarzan, and uses three unaired episodes of the film's corresponding television series, The Legend of Tarzan. Tarzan II: The Legend Begins, a followup to the original film, was released in 2005. The film is set one year after the events of the first film. Plot The film makes use of a frame tale to present three self-contained "episodes" via flashback. Jane and Tarzan's first wedding anniversary has arrived, and Jane is trying to find a suitable present for her husband, with the help of the elephant Tantor and the gorilla Terk. When a party is suggested, the trio remembers the disaster that occurred when three of Jane's friends arrived for a visit. Jane had organized an English-style picnic for her friends, but Tarzan had refused to join them after believing Jane was embarrassed by his savage habits. The picnic was interrupted when two panthers, Nuru and Sheeta attacked Jane and her friends, forcing them to flee into the deeper regions of the jungle. As Jane taught her friends a few survival techniques, they were once again ambushed by the panthers, only to be saved when Tarzan rushed in. Back to the present day, Jane ponders over the idea of expensive gifts, particularly jewelry, prompting Terk to remind her of the time Tarzan tried to get her a diamond. Tarzan had led two men, Johannes Niels and Merkus to a nearby volcano containing a diamond mine and in return, they would give him one of the diamonds to give to Jane, only for them to turn on him once inside, wanting to take all the diamonds for themselves. The volcano then erupted with Tarzan, Jane, and Professor Porter trapped inside, though they managed to escape before the lava flows reached them. Tarzan then rescued Johannes and Merkus, only for them to lose their diamonds in the process. They are arrested after this and taken back to England. Professor Porter then joins the conversation, suggesting to Jane that she and Tarzan should celebrate their anniversary with a dance. This causes Terk to bring up the time Jane's old friend Robert Canler visited. Things had gone well, despite Tarzan feeling jealous and mistrusting towards Canler (claiming that he is a bad man that reminds him of Sabor), until Canler had revealed he was working as a double agent for the Germans of the German Empire during World War I and had come for a code machine disguised as a music box he gave to Jane for safekeeping. He then kidnapped her, but was tracked down and stopped by Tarzan assisted by RAF pilot Nigel Taylor, who had been on Canler's trail. Taylor commandeers Canler's plane and takes him back to England to stand trial. Having run out of ideas and realizing anniversaries would not fit in with Tarzan's uncivilized lifestyle, Jane returns to the treehouse in disappointment, only to cheer up after finding it decorated and everyone, including Tarzan, who is wearing his father's suit, had planned a surprise party to make her happy. Terk, Tantor, and the Professor had known about it all along and were simply distracting her while everyone else got the party set up. Tarzan gives Jane a diamond ring made from the same diamonds in the volcano. The celebrations start as everyone dances, including Tarzan and Jane, as the story concludes with the couple dancing under the moonlight with fireflies all around. Cast * Michael T. Weiss as Tarzan * Olivia d'Abo as Jane Porter * April Winchell as Terk * Jim Cummings as Tantor and Merkus * John O'Hurley as Johannes Niels * Jeff Bennett as Prof. Archimedes Q. Porter and Robert (Bobby) Canler * Alexis Denisof as Nigel Taylor * Grey DeLisle-Griffin as Greenly * Nicollette Sheridan as Eleanor * Tara Strong as Hazel * René Auberjonois as Renard Dumont * Frank Welker as Nuru and Sheeta Reception The film was critically panned by critics and fans alike, many citing the animation as the main problem and, secondarily, the gentrification of Tarzan and Jane's characters. The narrative was also criticized. ''The Legend of Tarzan'' This film is largely a flashback to three episodes of the TV series The Legend of Tarzan. The episodes in question are "Tarzan and the British Invasion", "Tarzan and the Volcanic Diamond Mine" and "Tarzan and the Flying Ace", the last three episodes of the show to be aired (but taking place much earlier in production order). An adventure game on the DVD is also based on the series. It resembles a multiple choice story, featuring many different characters from the TV series. References External links * * * *Official Website Category:2002 films Category:2002 animated films Category:2002 direct-to-video films Category:2000s American animated films Category:2000s fantasy adventure films Category:2000s romance films Category:American films Category:American fantasy adventure films Category:American sequel films Category:Animated adventure films Category:Animated films about apes Category:Animated romance films Category:Direct-to-video sequel films Category:Tarzan (franchise) Category:DisneyToon Studios animated films Category:Disney direct-to-video animated films Category:Films featuring anthropomorphic characters Category:Films set in the 1900s Category:Films set in Africa Category:Love stories Category:Tarzan films Category:Disney Television Animation films